Tea: A Stimulant That Made the Modern World
owl writes:
https://worldhistory.substack.com/p/tea-a-stimulant-that-made-the-modern
In the early modern period, the twin forces of global trade and colonialism introduced people around the world to foods, medicines, and diseases that had previously been confined to a certain region. One category of items seems to have been especially important: stimulants.
What fueled the feverish intellectual and commercial activity of the age? Certainly, the new availability of substances that provide an energy boost - from sugar to cocaine - played a role. For the next few weeks, we're going to be looking at the stimulants that made the modern world. First up - tea!
In the 1600s, an exciting new drug crossed the oceans in trade ships. It was exotic and rare, which only increased its allure. While under the influence, some people found that their minds raced, but others felt that it helped them to concentrate. It gave people unnatural amounts of energy and stamina. It did have side effects, though - some people got jittery, others felt their hearts race, and some couldn't sleep. Many people got hooked and felt like they couldn't function without the stuff.The London Gazette announced its arrival in 1658:
That Excellent, and by all Physitians approved, China Drink, called by Chineans, Tcha, by other Nations Tay, alias Tee, is sold at the Sultaness-head, a Cophee-house, in Sweeting's Rents by the Royal Exchange, London.
As you can see from the advertisement above, tea was not the first caffeine-delivery system to hit Europe in the early modern period. Coffee had shown up about a century before and provided a bigger hit of caffeine. But tea was something different, a beverage with subtler charms, a stimulant that somehow lent itself to soothing rituals. And no place was more charmed by tea than Britain.
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